WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. _ Nick Ward flipped his arms up incredulously. Picking up his third foul earned him a quick ticket to the bench.
Kenny Goins trotted onto the court to replace him. In 45 seconds, he was whistled for his second and third fouls.
And then each picked up a fourth. With more than 14 minutes to play. By the time they finally fouled out, any hope Michigan State had of a comeback had long since left Mackey Arena.
The foul trouble that plagued Michigan State in its first meeting with No. 16 Purdue proved problematic once again Saturday, as the Boilermakers pounded the ball in the paint over and over en route to an 80-63 victory.
Ex-MSU commit Caleb Swanigan led the Boilermakers with 24 points, 15 rebounds and five assists.
The Spartans (16-11, 8-6 Big Ten) had their two-game win streak snapped and fell to 2-5 on the road this season, missing an opportunity to put a signature victory on their bubble-teetering NCAA Tournament record.
MSU also suffered a more significant loss when Eron Harris had to be carried off the court on a stretcher after injuring his right leg on a drive to the basket with 9:18 to play in the second half. There was no immediate word about his condition, but the senior guard from nearby Indianapolis was taken off the court on a stretcher to a standing ovation from the Purdue fans. A number of MSU players were crying.
Miles Bridges led the Spartans with 14 points, scoring 11 of them in the second half after the Boilermakers had pulled away to start the second half, and nine rebounds. The freshman scored 33 points in the first meeting, an 84-73 Purdue win in East Lansing. Alvin Ellis added 10 points and five rebounds.
Swanigan and Isaac Hass exploited MSU's lack of size in the paint all day, combining for 42 points on 15-for-23 shooting and 19 rebounds for the Boilermakers (22-5, 11-3). They did exactly what they did in the first meeting, by getting both Ward and Goins into foul trouble.
Purdue maximized its height advantage for much of the first half, exploiting the Spartans' lack of size by feeding 7-foot-2 Haas and 6-9 Swanigan repeatedly in the post. The duo combined to make 8 of 12 shots in the period, with Swanigan totaling 11 points and six rebounds, and Haas getting eight points and three boards by halftime. Ward had two fouls and Goins one at halftime, and Purdue scored eight points off MSU's nine turnovers to take a 37-26 lead into the locker room.
Freshman Ward picked up his third foul 1:11 into the second half, with Goins coming back into the game to replace him and was whistled for two fouls.
Both Goins and Ward then had to play passive defense from there out. The 6-foot-6 Goins landed his fourth foul with 15:53 left, then fouled out with 5:42 remaining. The 6-8 Ward earned his fourth with 15:02 to play and then took the bench after his fifth foul with 8:19 remaining.
Haas had his way in Purdue's knockout stretch, scoring six straight at one point and getting 10 of his points in the final half. Swanigan had 13 points and nine rebounds in the final 20 minutes.
